After a two-year hiatus due to budget cutbacks, tours of historic houses resume
STORY BY KATHY ANSELL
09/21/2005
After two years in mothballs, Odessa's Corbit-Sharp house will throw open its distinguished doors and welcome the community Oct. 1.
The 22-room, 18th-century Georgian home is the flagship of a collection of buildings now managed by the Historic Odessa Foundation and getting ready for a new audience.
The group of National Historic Landmarks lost the support of Winterthur Museum in May 2003 due to budget cutbacks. Delawareans lost the opportunity to tour the homes and absorb the history they convey with their intact period furnishings and artifacts.
In May, the museum transferred ownership of the buildings to the foundation, which is run by the family of former owner H. Rodney Sharp.
The new management is working to ready the four homes for restored public tours and is making plans to launch educational programs for families and school groups, said executive director Deborah Buckson.
Buckson, who lived in Odessa for more than 20 years before she moved to nearby Pennsylvania, was once curator of the collection for Winterthur. She recently returned to work for the Historic Odessa Foundation, finding the once-quiet town and surroundings much changed.
"I'm stunned by the growth, the number of families with young children," Buckson said. "There are so many people who have moved here, and they have no idea that this is some of the most important architecture in Delaware -- in the country."
The young population has inspired the foundation to bring back the big festivals that were once a hallmark of the historic town, celebrations of its roots in river trade, water wildlife and crafts.
The foundation will host more family programs before the big public opening of all the houses Dec. 3, when they'll be part of the The Women's Club of Odessa's Christmas tour. After that, public tours will resume, with an admission charge.
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